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Gad Saad on Charlie Kirk's Assassination: We Killed a Young Father Over His Ideas
Gad Saad, visiting scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center at Miss University, responded to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative commentator, as both a personal friend and a longtime observer of political violence in America. Saad described oscillating between deep sadness and righteous indignation, calling the killing grotesque and a sign of civilizational decay. For Saad, who escaped the Middle East five decades ago, the violence struck a deeply personal chord, a reminder that the instability he once fled has now arrived on American soil. Saad argued that freedom of speech must be an absolute principle with no exceptions or qualifiers, and that the shooter likely believed he was morally justified, operating under a consequentialist logic that framed Kirk's ideas as dangerous enough to warrant his death. Saad warned that this thinking has no place in civil society.
A Friend Speaks Out
Gad Saad, visiting scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center at Miss University, spoke following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative commentator. Saad, who counted Kirk as a personal friend, described his reaction as oscillating between overwhelming sadness and righteous indignation.
"We killed a young father because we disagreed with his ideas. It's grotesque," Saad said, noting the bitter irony that after escaping the Middle East fifty years ago, he now finds himself watching America settle political debates through violence.
Freedom of Speech Has No "But"
Saad was unequivocal on free speech, arguing it must be treated as a deontological principle — absolute and without qualification. He warned that the moment someone says "I believe in freedom of speech, but..." they have abandoned the principle entirely.
In Saad's view, the shooter likely believed he was morally justified, operating under a consequentialist logic that framed Kirk's ideas as so dangerous that killing him was a moral act. Saad rejected this reasoning entirely.
"That reflex cannot exist in a civil society. If we don't stomp it out, we will learn to regret it in the future," he said.
The Warning Signs Were There
Saad said the assassination, while devastating, did not entirely surprise him. He has spent decades warning about the trajectory of political violence in America, pointing to his own experience as evidence that the signs have long been visible.
At an award ceremony in Beverly Hills hosted by a Jewish organization, Saad required both US Marshals and Israeli security forces simply to speak about freedom of speech. He argued that when that level of protection becomes necessary for ideas, the culture has already traveled far down a dangerous road.
A Bright Light, a Happy Warrior
Saad spoke warmly of Kirk as a person, describing him as kind, respectful, and full of life — someone willing to debate with passion, but whose warmth was unmistakable to those who knew him.
"He's a happy warrior. He's respectful. He's kind. Yes, he's willing to debate people with a lot of spice and fervor, but his heart shines brightly," Saad said.
Saad called Kirk a true mensch — a Yiddish term of high praise — and said his killing speaks to the darkness of those who seek to silence free expression in America.
Video Transcript
[00:00] joining us is Gad Sad and this is
[00:01] obviously in response to the major news
[00:03] um the terribly sad news out of the US
[00:05] that Charlie Kirk 31-year-old
[00:08] conservative commentator has been
[00:10] assassinated and joining us is is Gad
[00:12] the visiting scholar the declaration of
[00:14] independence center at Miss University
[00:17] sir it's um it's good to have you with
[00:19] us I'm sorry for your loss today because
[00:21] I I understand you were a friend of of
[00:24] Charlie Kirk so can I just start off
[00:26] with with your reaction to it
[00:29] Uh, I'm speechless. I'm I I oscillate
[00:32] between unbelievable sadness and
[00:36] righteous
[00:37] indignation. You know, I'm filled with
[00:39] rage. It It's impossible that I escaped
[00:43] all of this 50 years ago from the Middle
[00:45] East, but now it's the way that we
[00:47] adjudicate debates. We killed a young
[00:51] father because we disagreed with his
[00:53] ideas. It's grotesque.
[00:56] What are your thoughts now on political
[00:59] discourse in the United States moving
[01:01] forward?
[01:04] >> Look, uh, freedom of speech has to be a
[01:06] deontological principle, meaning that
[01:09] whenever you say I believe in freedom of
[01:11] speech, but and you put that but
[01:14] qualifier, you're a degenerate who
[01:16] doesn't believe in freedom of speech. I
[01:19] I can guarantee you that the the the the
[01:21] monster who killed Charlie Kirk today
[01:23] actually thinks that he was perfectly in
[01:26] the right because he was using using a
[01:29] consequentialist ethic. He was saying
[01:31] Charlie Kirk is saying things that are
[01:33] so profoundly against what I believe in
[01:36] that to kill him and erase him from
[01:38] earth and take him away from his two
[01:39] young children is actually a moral act.
[01:42] That reflex cannot exist in a civil
[01:45] society. If we don't stomp it out, we
[01:48] will learn to regret it in the future.
[01:50] >> And should this or will this maybe it
[01:52] has already shine a bigger spotlight on
[01:54] left-wing violence in the United States?
[01:57] I
[01:57] >> I I pray to God that it has. It's
[01:59] something, as you probably know, if
[02:01] you're familiar with my work, I've been
[02:03] predicting this for decades because you
[02:05] just have to have the courage to read
[02:07] the signs, right? when I I I went to a
[02:12] an event in Beverly Hills where a Jewish
[02:15] organization was giving me an award in
[02:18] Beverly Hills, United States, and I had
[02:21] to have US marshals around me and
[02:24] Israeli security forces. When that is
[02:27] happening to a 60-year-old professor who
[02:29] is going to talk about the importance of
[02:31] freedom of speech, you better pay
[02:33] attention. M I mean it's coincidental it
[02:37] seems on reflection but before Charlie
[02:39] Kirk was shot today he was talking about
[02:41] gun violence in the United States.
[02:44] Freedom of speech I mean you you knew
[02:46] Charlie Kirk um is something that
[02:49] perhaps he he was willing to die for. I
[02:51] think that there are comments in the
[02:52] past where he said such a thing.
[02:55] >> I'm I'm not familiar with those specific
[02:56] comments. What I can tell you is that
[02:59] knowing Charlie Kirk on a personal
[03:00] level, and I'm not someone who dishes
[03:03] out compliments easily, he was a bright
[03:05] light. He's a happy warrior. He's
[03:08] respectful. He's kind. Yes, he's willing
[03:11] to debate people with a lot of spice and
[03:13] fervor, but his heart shines brightly.
[03:17] and to take out someone who could be
[03:20] such a mench as we say in uh in Jewish
[03:23] talk uh really speaks to the darkness of
[03:26] those who wish to eradicate our freedom
[03:29] of speech.
[03:30] >> Okay. Um, Gadsard, appreciate your time
[03:32] this morning on on a difficult day for
[03:34] you, but thank you for your
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